Where it stops tells you what's wrong
Stuck on the manufacturer's logo (Dell, HP, Lenovo): it hasn't reached Windows at all. Usually hardware, or the machine can't find the drive.
"No bootable device" or similar: the drive isn't being detected, or the boot information on it is damaged. Sometimes just a USB stick left plugged in.
Stuck on the Windows logo or spinning dots: Windows started loading and hit something it can't get past. Usually a driver, a failed update, or corruption.
Looping: starts, crashes, restarts, repeats: frequently a failed update or a bad driver. Also a classic sign of a failing drive.
Reaches the login screen but won't accept your password: that's an account problem, not a Windows problem, and it's usually fixable without touching your files.
Automatic Repair that never finishes: Windows knows something's wrong and can't fix it itself. Needs proper repair rather than more restarts.
Your files are almost certainly still there
This is the most important thing on this page. Windows failing to load says very little about the drive. The overwhelming majority of the machines we see in this state have completely healthy drives with every file present. The operating system around them is what broke.
Even in the worst case where the drive itself has failed, recovery is $400 flat with no fee if we can't get your files back.
Worth trying, in this order
- Unplug every USB device and try again. Flash drives cause this constantly.
- Full power drain. Hold the power button 30 seconds with the charger out, then reconnect.
- Safe Mode. Interrupt the boot three times and Windows offers recovery options. If Safe Mode loads, the system is fundamentally intact and something specific is at fault.
- Undo the last update from the recovery menu, if the trouble started right after one.
- System Restore, if a restore point exists. Rolls back system changes without touching your documents.
What not to do
- Don't reinstall Windows to "start fresh". It wipes your files, and it's almost never the necessary step. This is the most expensive mistake people make here.
- Don't accept a "Reset this PC" prompt without knowing which option you're choosing: one of them removes everything.
- Don't keep force-restarting repeatedly. If a drive is failing, each cycle costs you.
- Don't run a disk repair tool on a drive you suspect is dying. It can make recovery harder.
Getting it fixed
Our diagnostic is $50/hr and separates "Windows is damaged" from "the drive is failing" quickly, which matters, because the first is a repair and the second is a recovery. Either way you get a firm quote before anything proceeds, and getting your files off comes first if they're not backed up.
We also build a Windows repair tool that can rebuild Windows while keeping your files, if you'd rather try it yourself or hand it to your own technician.
Rather work through it question by question? The free troubleshooter starts on this exact problem, and you can share the result with your own technician or a family member.
Diagnose this now →Windows won't start properly, answered plainly.
Windows won't start. Have I lost my files?
Should I reinstall Windows?
It keeps restarting in a loop. What causes that?
It says 'no bootable device'
Can you get my files off if it won't boot?
Work through it yourself
Our free troubleshooter asks a few questions and narrows down the likely cause, then gives you steps to try. At the end you can copy the summary, email it, or share the link with your own technician or a family member. Nothing to install, and no email required.